"We made really substantial progress in moving from something that was really unacceptable to the administration to something with which we still have problems," Holder said in response to a question from the Wall Street Journal's Evan Perez. "But I think through these procedures, with these regulations we will be crafting, we can minimize the problems that will actually affect us in an operational way."

Holder said the language of the NDAA had been moved in a "substantial way" from some of the original language which led the president to issue a veto threat.

"So we are in a better place, I think the regulations, procedures that will help, and we'll also have a signing statement from the president" which will help clarify how they view the law, Holder said.